Made in the USA! This kit comes from the original and updated Varney tooling. Perhaps the first plastic model kit made in the USA, going back to the late 1940’s. Build a piece of history. Molded in gray with retro box art. Features include detailed propellers and diving planes, deck cannons, and updated decals for the entire class of GATO ships. A nice display stand is included.
Gato Submarine History
The United States Navy Gato class submarine was the forerunner of all US World War II submarine designs. The Gato-class boats were considered to be “Fleet Submarines”. They were to scout out ahead of the fleet and report on the enemy fleet’s composition, speed, and course, then they were to attack and whittle down the enemy in preparation for the main fleet action.
USS Gato (SS-212) was the lead ship of her class of submarine in the US Navy. She was the first Navy ship named for the Gato, a species of small Catshark. The Gatos and their successors formed the core of the submarine service that was largely responsible for the destruction of the Japanese merchant marine and a large portion of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II.
The Gato-class could hold a maximum of twenty-four torpedoes which could be launched from ten torpedo tubes. They were also armed with one 3 inch deck gun and a variety of smaller anti-aircraft weapons. Measuring 307 feet by 27 feet by 14 feet, Gato-class submarines had a typical displacement of 1,525 tons. General Motors Diesel engines and electric motors provided 6,500 brake horsepower, resulting in a speed of 21 knots.
Seventy-seven of these boats were commissioned from November 1941 (Drum) through April 1944 (Croaker). Twenty ships of the class were lost during World War II.
Museum boats
Six Gato-class submarines are open to public viewing. They primarily depend on revenue generated by visitors to keep them operational and up to U.S. Navy standards; each boat gets a yearly inspection and a “report card”. Some boats, such as Cod and Silversides, have been used in film production.
Surviving ships
The following is a complete list of Gato-class museum boats:
USS Cavalla SS-244 is at Seawolf Park near Galveston, Texas
USS Cobia SS-245 is at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
USS Cod SS-224 is on display in Cleveland, Ohio. The submarine retains its historical structural integrity from its World War II configuration, as it does not have doors cut through its pressure hull nor stairwells added. (The other surviving Gato-class submarines have been modified for public access.) Cod was used in the filming of the Smithsonian Channel war documentary Hell Below and the subject of a two-part documentary in the World of Warships YouTube channel named Naval Legends: USS Cod.
USS Croaker SS-246 is on display in Buffalo, New York.
USS Drum SS-228 is on display on shore at Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama.
USS Silversides SS-236 is on display in Muskegon, Michigan.
